Mulled Cranberry Cider (Apple-Free)

A low FODMAP apple-free mulled cider of cranberry and orange juice simmered with cinnamon, cloves, star anise, cardamom, ginger, and maple syrup.

Prep 5 min

Cook 25 min

Serves 6

Gluten-freeDairy-freeVegan

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (180 ml) unsweetened cranberry juice (100 percent juice, no apple or pear blends)
• 3 1/4 cups (770 ml) brewed rooibos or black tea, or water
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) fresh orange juice (about 1 small orange)
• Zest of 1 orange, peeled in wide strips with a vegetable peeler
• Zest of 1 lemon, peeled in wide strips
• 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup, plus more to taste
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 6 whole cloves
• 2 star anise pods
• 4 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• 1-inch piece fresh ginger, sliced into thin coins (no need to peel)
• Fresh cranberries and extra cinnamon sticks, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Combine

1. Pour the cranberry juice, tea, and orange juice into a medium saucepan. Add the maple syrup and stir to dissolve.

Add the aromatics

1. Drop in the orange zest, lemon zest, cinnamon sticks, cloves, star anise, cardamom pods, and ginger slices.

Simmer

1. Bring the pot to a bare simmer over medium heat, then drop the heat to low. Keep it at the barest simmer (small bubbles at the edges, not a rolling boil) for 15 to 20 minutes so the spices infuse without the juice turning bitter.

Taste

1. Taste the cider and add another teaspoon or two of maple syrup if you want more sweetness. Adjust to your palate.

Serve

1. Ladle through a fine-mesh strainer into mugs. Garnish each with a fresh cinnamon stick and a few fresh cranberries floated on top.

Tips & Substitutions

• Do not use apple juice or store-bought mulled cider. Apple juice is high-FODMAP in usual serving sizes because of its excess fructose, and nearly every bottled mulled cider, wassail, or spiced cider at the grocery store is apple-based. Unsweetened cranberry juice gives you the same tart red base.
• Buy 100 percent cranberry juice, not cranberry cocktail. The label should list cranberries (and maybe water) and nothing else. Check cranberry cocktail labels for high-fructose corn syrup, apple juice or pear juice. Lakewood, Trader Joe's Just Cranberry, and R.W. Knudsen Just Cranberry list cranberries alone.
• Cane sugar works if you are out of maple syrup. Swap in 3 tablespoons of cane sugar (plain white or light brown) for the maple syrup. Skip honey and agave: honey is only low at 1 teaspoon, well under what a pot needs, and agave is high-FODMAP.
• Slow-cooker or crowd version. Double or triple the recipe in a slow cooker on low for 2 to 3 hours, or hold it on warm for up to 4 hours so guests can self-serve. Keep the lid on; if the flavor tastes mild, crack the lid for the last 30 to 60 minutes.
• Make it a cocktail. Pour 4 ounces of warm cider into a mug and stir in 1 ounce (30 ml) of bourbon or whiskey per serving. Rum is not low-FODMAP in Monash testing, so leave it out.
• Keep the cranberry measured. Unsweetened cranberry juice is low FODMAP at about 30 ml per mug, so the tea carries the volume and the spices carry the flavor.
• Do not overboil. A rolling boil pulls bitter tannins out of the cinnamon and clove and cooks off the bright orange top notes. Low and slow is the move, the same way you would treat a good pot of glühwein.

Why This Works

Unsweetened cranberry juice works instead of apple juice. Most mulled cider recipes use apple juice, which is high in excess fructose at a normal glass. 100 percent cranberry juice is low FODMAP at about 30 ml, so each of the six 150 ml (2/3-cup) mugs holds that much, stretched with spiced tea.

Whole spices are low-FODMAP and fragrant. Cinnamon, cloves, star anise, cardamom, and fresh ginger are all low-FODMAP in typical seasoning amounts, and steeping whole spices pulls the flavor out without the gritty texture or concentrated heat of ground spices. A bare simmer for 15 to 20 minutes is the sweet spot, long enough to bloom, short enough to avoid bitterness.

Maple syrup is the right sweetener. Pure maple syrup is low-FODMAP in typical portions, and 3 tablespoons spread across six mugs works out to about 1.5 teaspoons per serving, which is a very small pour. Cane sugar is another low-FODMAP swap at this amount.

Orange zest and a splash of juice add brightness. A quarter cup of orange juice across six servings keeps each pour well under the Monash low-FODMAP orange juice serve size, and the wide strips of orange zest carry the oils that make mulled drinks smell like a holiday kitchen.

Storage

Strain out the spices, cool, and refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 4 days at 40°F (4°C) or below. Rewarm gently on the stovetop over low heat or in the microwave in 30-second bursts; don't boil. The cider freezes for up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the fridge before rewarming.